Intel introduced a new tier-based naming scheme for its Core processors with the launch of the Nehalem microarchitecture in November 2008. Unlike earlier branding, these names no longer reflected specific technical features such as core count, but instead indicated relative performance levels: entry-level (i3), mid-range (i5), and high-end (i7). The tiers corresponded to the company's prior Intel Processor Rating system, which assigned three, four, and five stars to the Core lines, above the one- and two-star ratings for Celeron and Pentium, respectively. In 2017, Intel added a fourth tier with the introduction of the Core i9, positioned above the i7 as a premium high-performance option.
Pre-i9 series Era 1st generation The Nehalem microarchitecture was introduced in November 2008. Common features of all Nehalem based processors include an integrated
DDR3 memory controller as well as
QuickPath Interconnect or
PCI Express and
Direct Media Interface on the processor replacing the aging quad-pumped
Front Side Bus used in all earlier Core processors. All these processors have 256 KB L2 cache per core, plus up to 12 MB shared L3 cache. Because of the new I/O interconnect, chipsets and mainboards from previous generations can no longer be used with Nehalem-based processors. Intel intended the Core i3 as the new low end of the performance processor line from Intel, following the retirement of the
Core 2 brand. The first Core i3 processors were launched on January 7, 2010. The first Nehalem based Core i3 was
Clarkdale-based, with an integrated
GPU and two cores. The same processor is also available as Core i5 and Pentium, with slightly different configurations. The Core i3-3xxM processors are based on
Arrandale, the mobile version of the Clarkdale desktop processor. They are similar to the Core i5-4xx series but running at lower clock speeds and without
Turbo Boost. According to an Intel
FAQ they do not support
Error Correction Code (ECC) memory. According to motherboard manufacturer Supermicro, if a Core i3 processor is used with a server chipset platform such as Intel 3400/3420/3450, the CPU supports ECC with UDIMM. According to a forum post, when asked, Intel confirmed that, although the Intel 5 series chipset supports non-ECC memory only with the Core i5 or i3 processors, using those processors on a motherboard with 3400 series chipsets it supports the ECC function of ECC memory. A limited number of motherboards by other companies also support ECC with Intel Core ix processors; the Asus P8B WS is an example, but it does not support ECC memory under Windows non-server operating systems.
Lynnfield were the first Core i5 processors using the
Nehalem microarchitecture, introduced on September 8, 2009, as a mainstream variant of the earlier Core i7. Lynnfield Core i5 processors have an 8 MB
L3 cache, a DMI bus running at 2.5
GT/s and support for dual-channel DDR3-800/1066/1333 memory and have
Hyper-threading disabled. The same processors with different sets of features (Hyper-threading and other clock frequencies) enabled are sold as
Core i7-8xx and
Xeon 3400-series processors, which should not be confused with high-end Core i7-9xx and Xeon 3500-series processors based on
Bloomfield. A new feature called Turbo Boost Technology was introduced which maximizes speed for demanding applications, dynamically accelerating performance to match the workload. After
Nehalem received a 32 nm
Westmere die shrink,
Arrandale, the dual-core mobile Core i5 processors and its desktop counterpart
Clarkdale was introduced in January 2010, together with Core i7-6xx and Core i3-3xx processors based on the same architecture. Arrandale processors have integrated graphics capability. Core i3-3xx does not support for
Turbo Boost, L3 cache in Core i5-5xx processors is reduced to 3 MB, while the Core i5-6xx uses the full cache, According to Intel "Core i5 desktop processors and desktop boards typically do not support ECC memory", but information on limited ECC support in the Core i3 section also applies to Core i5 and i7. The Core i7 brand targets the business and high-end consumer markets for both desktop and laptop computers, and is distinguished from the
Core i3 (entry-level consumer),
Core i5 (mainstream consumer), and
Xeon (server and workstation) brands. Introduced in late 2008,
Bloomfield was the first Core i7 processors based on the Nehalem architecture. The following year,
Lynnfield desktop processors and
Clarksfield mobile processors brought new quad-core Core i7 models based on the said architecture. After
Nehalem received a 32 nm
Westmere die shrink,
Arrandale dual-core mobile processors were introduced in January 2010, followed by Core i7's first six-core desktop processor
Gulftown on March 16, 2010. Both the regular Core i7 and the
Extreme Edition are advertised as five stars in the Intel Processor Rating. The first-generation Core i7 uses two different sockets;
LGA 1366 designed for high-end desktops and servers, and
LGA 1156 used in low- and mid-end desktops and servers. In each generation, the highest-performing Core i7 processors use the same socket and
QPI-based architecture as the medium-end Xeon processors of that generation, while lower-performing Core i7 processors use the same socket and PCIe/DMI/FDI architecture as the Core i5. "Core i7" is a successor to the
Intel Core 2 brand. Intel representatives stated that they intended the
moniker Core i7 to help consumers decide which processor to purchase as Intel releases newer Nehalem-based products in the future.
2nd generation In early 2011, Intel introduced a new microarchitecture named
Sandy Bridge. This is the second generation of the Core processor microarchitecture. It kept all the existing brands from Nehalem, including Core i3/i5/i7, and introduced new model numbers. The initial set of Sandy Bridge processors includes dual- and quad-core variants, all of which use a single 32 nm die for both the CPU and integrated GPU cores, unlike the earlier microarchitectures. All Core i3/i5/i7 processors with the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture have a four-digit model number. With the mobile version, the
thermal design power can no longer be determined from a one- or two-letter suffix but is encoded into the CPU number. Starting with Sandy Bridge, Intel no longer distinguishes the code names of the processor based on number of cores, socket or intended usage; they all use the same code name as the microarchitecture itself.
Ivy Bridge is the codename for Intel's 22 nm die shrink of the Sandy Bridge microarchitecture based on tri-gate ("3D") transistors, introduced in April 2012. Released on January 20, 2011, the Core i3-2xxx line of desktop and mobile processors is a direct replacement of the 2010 "Clarkdale" Core i3-5xx and "Arrandale" Core i3-3xxM models, based on the new microarchitecture. While they require new sockets and chipsets, the user-visible features of the Core i3 are largely unchanged, including the lack of support for
Turbo Boost and
AES-NI. Unlike the Sandy Bridge-based Celeron and Pentium processors, the Core i3 line does support the new
Advanced Vector Extensions. This particular processor is the entry-level processor of this new series of Intel processors. . In January 2011, Intel released new quad-core Core i5 processors based on the "Sandy Bridge" microarchitecture at CES 2011. New dual-core mobile processors and desktop processors arrived in February 2011. The Core i5-2xxx line of desktop processors are mostly quad-core chips, with the exception of the dual-core Core i5-2390T, and include integrated graphics, combining the key features of the earlier Core i5-6xx and Core i5-7xx lines. The suffix after the four-digit model number designates unlocked multiplier (K), low-power (S) and ultra-low-power (T). The desktop CPUs now all have four non-
SMT cores (like the i5-750), with the exception of the i5-2390T. The DMI bus runs at 5 GT/s. The mobile Core i5-2xxxM processors are all dual-core and hyper-threaded chips like the previous Core i5-5xxM series, and share most of the features with that product line. The Core i7 brand was the high-end for Intel's desktop and mobile processors, until the announcement of the i9 in 2017. Its Sandy Bridge models feature the largest amount of L3 cache and the highest clock frequency. Most of these models are very similar to their smaller Core i5 siblings. The quad-core mobile Core i7-2xxxQM/XM processors follow the previous "Clarksfield" Core i7-xxxQM/XM processors, but now also include integrated graphics.
3rd generation Ivy Bridge is the codename for a "third generation" line of processors based on the 22 nm manufacturing process developed by Intel. Mobile versions of the CPU were released in April 2012 following with desktop versions in September 2012. The Ivy Bridge-based Core-i3-3xxx line is a minor upgrade to 22 nm process technology and better graphics.
4th generation Haswell is the fourth generation Core processor microarchitecture, and was released in 2013.
5th generation Broadwell is the fifth generation Core processor microarchitecture, and was released by Intel on September 6, 2014, and began shipping in late 2014. It is the first to use a 14 nm chip. Additionally, mobile processors were launched in January 2015 and Desktop Core i5 and i7 processors were released in June 2015.
Desktop processor (DT-Series) Mobile processors (U-Series) Mobile Processors (Y-Series) 6th generation Broadwell microarchitecture Skylake microarchitecture Skylake is the sixth generation Core processor microarchitecture, and was launched in August 2015 before i9 series. Being the successor to the Broadwell line, it is a redesign using the same 14 nm manufacturing process technology; however the redesign has better CPU and GPU performance and reduced power consumption. Intel also disabled overclocking non -K processors.
Era of i9 series/Pre-Era of Core Ultra 7th generation Skylake microarchitecture Kaby Lake Kaby Lake is the codename for the seventh generation Core processor, and was launched in October 2016 (mobile chips) and January 2017 (desktop chips). With the latest generation of microarchitecture, Intel decided to produce Kaby Lake processors without using their "
tick–tock" manufacturing and design model. Kaby Lake features the same Skylake microarchitecture and is fabricated using Intel's
14 nanometer manufacturing process technology. Features specific to Coffee Lake include: • Following similar refinements to the 14 nm process in Skylake and Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake is the third 14 nm process refinement ("14nm++") and features increased transistor gate pitch for a lower current density and higher leakage transistors which allows higher peak power and higher frequency at the expense of die area and idle power. • Coffee Lake will be used in conjunction with the 300-series chipset and is incompatible with the older 100- and 200-series chipsets. • Increased L3 cache in accordance to the number of cores • Increased turbo clock speeds across i5 and i7 CPUs models (increased by up to 200 MHz) • Increased iGPU clock speeds by 50 MHz • DDR4 memory support updated for 2666 MHz (for i5 and i7 parts) and 2400 MHz (for i3 parts); DDR3 memory is no longer supported • Processors Core i3-8100 and Core i3-8350K with stepping B0 actually belong to "
Kaby Lake-S" family
Amber Lake microarchitecture Amber Lake is a refinement over the low power Mobile Kaby Lake CPUs.
Whiskey Lake microarchitecture Whiskey Lake is
Intel's codename for the third 14 nm
Skylake process-refinement, following
Kaby Lake Refresh and
Coffee Lake. Intel announced low power mobile Whiskey Lake CPUs availability on August 28, 2018. It has not yet been advertised whether this CPU architecture contains hardware mitigations for
Meltdown/
Spectre class vulnerabilities—various sources contain conflicting information. Unofficially it was announced that Whiskey Lake has hardware mitigations against Meltdown and L1TF while Spectre V2 requires software mitigations as well as microcode/firmware update.
Cannon Lake microarchitecture Cannon Lake (formerly
Skymont) is
Intel's codename for the
10 nanometer die shrink of the
Kaby Lake microarchitecture. As a die shrink, Cannon Lake is a new process in Intel's "
process–architecture–optimization" execution plan as the next step in semiconductor fabrication. Cannon Lake are the first mainstream CPUs to include the
AVX-512 instruction set. In comparison to the previous generation
AVX2 (AVX-256), the new generation AVX-512 most notably provides double the width of data registers and double the number of registers. These enhancements would allow for twice the number of floating point operations per register due to the increased width in addition to doubling the overall
number of registers, resulting in theoretical performance improvements of up to four times the performance of AVX2. At
CES 2018, Intel announced that they had started shipping mobile Cannon Lake CPUs at the end of 2017 and that they would ramp up production in 2018. No further details were disclosed.
9th generation Skylake microarchitecture The 9th generation Coffee Lake CPUs are updated versions of previous Skylake X-Series CPUs with clockspeed improvements.
Coffee Lake Refresh microarchitecture The 9th generation
Coffee Lake CPUs were released in the fourth quarter of 2018. They include
hardware mitigations against certain
Meltdown/
Spectre vulnerabilities. For the first time in Intel consumer CPU history, these CPUs support up to 128 GB RAM.
* Intel Hyper-threading capabilities allow an enabled processor to execute two threads per physical core Even though the F suffix CPUs lack an integrated GPU, Intel set the same price for these CPUs as their featureful counterparts. • various reviews show that the Core i9 9900K CPU may consume over 140 W under load. The Core i9 9900KS may consume even more.
10th generation Cascade Lake microarchitecture Cascade Lake X-Series CPUs are the 10th generation versions of the previous Skylake X-Series CPUs. They offer minor clockspeed improvements and a highly reduced price.
Ice Lake microarchitecture Ice Lake is codename for Intel's 10th generation Intel Core processors, representing an enhancement of the 'architecture' of the preceding generation Kaby Lake/Cannon Lake processors (as specified in Intel's
process–architecture–optimization execution plan). As the successor to Cannon Lake, Ice Lake uses Intel's newer 10 nm+ fabrication process, and is powered by the
Sunny Cove microarchitecture. Ice Lake are the first Intel CPUs to feature in-silicon mitigations for the hardware vulnerabilities discovered in 2017,
Meltdown and
Spectre. These
side-channel attacks exploit
branch prediction's use of
speculative execution. These exploits may cause the CPU to reveal cached private information which the exploiting process is not intended to be able to access as a form of
timing attack.
Comet Lake microarchitecture Comet Lake is
Intel's codename for the fourth 14 nm
Skylake process-refinement, following
Whiskey Lake. Intel announced low power mobile Comet Lake CPUs availability on August 21, 2019.
Comet Lake Refresh microarchitecture Amber Lake Refresh microarchitecture 11th generation Tiger Lake Launched on September 2, 2020. • All models support DDR4-3200 memory • All models support 20 reconfigurable PCI Express 4.0 lanes, allowing x16 Gen 4 link for discrete GPU and x4 Gen 4 link for M.2 SSDs
Mobile processors (Tiger Lake-H) Mobile processors (Tiger Lake-H35) • All models support DDR4-3200 or LPDDR4X-4267 memory
Mobile processors (UP3-class) Mobile processors (UP4-class) Desktop/tablet processors (Tiger Lake-B) • Socket: FCBGA1787, a
BGA socket, thus these CPUs are meant only for system integrators • Intel Xe UHD Graphics • Up to 128 GB DDR4-3200 memory • Was initially incorrectly listed as having a 5.3 GHz TVB boost frequency.
Rocket Lake microarchitecture Rocket Lake is a codename for Intel's desktop x86 chip family based on the new
Cypress Cove microarchitecture, a variant of Sunny Cove (used by Intel's Ice Lake mobile processors) backported to the older 14 nm process. The chips are marketed as "Intel 11th generation Core". Launched March 30, 2021.
Desktop processors • All CPUs listed below support DDR4-3200 natively. The Core i9 K/KF processors enable a 1:1 ratio of DRAM to memory controller by default at DDR4-3200, whereas the Core i9 non K/KF and all other CPUs listed below enable a 2:1 ratio of DRAM to memory controller by default at DDR4-3200 and a 1:1 ratio by default at DDR4-2933. • All CPUs support up to 128 GiB of RAM in
dual channel mode • Core i9 CPUs (except 11900T) support Intel Thermal Velocity Boost technology
12th generation Alder Lake Alder Lake is Intel's codename for the 12th generation of Intel Core processors based on a hybrid architecture utilizing Golden Cove high-performance cores and Gracemont power-efficient cores. It is fabricated using Intel's
Intel 7 process, previously referred to as Intel 10 nm Enhanced SuperFin (10ESF). Intel officially announced 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs on October 27, 2021, and was launched to the market on November 4, 2021.
Desktop processors (Alder Lake-S) • All the CPUs support up to 128 GB of DDR4-3200 or DDR5-4800 RAM in
dual channel mode. • Some models feature integrated
UHD Graphics 770,
UHD Graphics 730 or
UHD Graphics 710 GPU with 32/24/16 EUs and base frequency of 300 MHz. • By default Alder Lake CPUs are configured to run at Turbo Power at all times and Base Power is only guaranteed when P-Cores/E-cores do
not exceed the base clock rate. • Max Turbo Power: the maximum sustained (> 1 s) power dissipation of the processor as limited by current and/or temperature controls. Instantaneous power may exceed Maximum Turbo Power for short durations (≤ 10 ms). Maximum Turbo Power is configurable by system vendor and can be system specific. • CPUs in
bold below feature
UDIMM ECC memory support only when paired with a motherboard based on the W680 chipset. • By default, Core i9 12900KS achieves 5.5 GHz only when using Thermal Velocity Boost
Extreme-performance Mobile Processors (Alder Lake-HX) •
Bold indicates ECC memory support
High-performance Mobile Processors (Alder Lake-H) Low Power Performance Mobile Processors (Alder Lake-P) Ultra Low Power Mobile Processors (Alder Lake-U) Era of Core Ultra 13th generation Raptor Lake Raptor Lake is Intel's codename for the 13th generation of Intel Core processors and the second generation based on a hybrid architecture. It is fabricated using an improved version of Intel's
Intel 7 process. Intel launched Raptor Lake on October 22, 2022.
Desktop Processors (Raptor Lake-S) • All CPUs support up to DDR5 4800 and 192 GiB of RAM • 13600 and better support DDR5 5600 • 13500 and lower support DDR5 4800 • Intel 600 and 700 chipset support with LGA 1700 • Intel 600 Series chipsets require BIOS update to achieve support for Raptor Lake-S • First 6 GHz processor (13900KS)* • By default, Core i9 13900KS achieves 6.0 GHz only when using Thermal Velocity Boost with sufficient power and cooling.
14th generation Raptor Lake Refresh Raptor Lake Refresh is Intel's codename for the 14th generation of Intel Core processors. It is a refresh and based on the same architecture of the 13th generation with clock speeds of up to 6.2 GHz on the Core i9 14900KS, 6 GHz on the Core i9 14900K and 14900KF, 5.6 GHz on the Core i7 14700K and 14700KF, and 5.3 GHz on the Core i5 14600K and 14600KF as well as UHD Graphics 770 on non-F processors. They are still based on the Intel 7 process node. Introduced on October 17, 2023, these CPUs are designed for the LGA 1700 socket, which allows for compatibility with 600 and 700 series motherboards. It is the last generation CPUs to use the Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and i9 naming scheme as Intel announced that they will be dropping the "i" prefix for future Intel Core processors in 2023. The 14th generation CPU was widely criticized as a last-ditch effort to beat AMD's
Zen 4 with 3D V-Cache Intel's desktop version of the next generation architecture,
Meteor Lake, was cancelled and the
Arrow Lake architecture was not yet ready for release. In addition to the Raptor Lake-S Refresh desktop processors, Intel also launched 14th gen Raptor Lake-HX Refresh mobile processors in January 2024. CPUs in
bold below feature
UDIMM ECC memory support only when paired with a motherboard based on the W680 chipset according to each respective Intel Ark product page. == Core and Core Ultra 3/5/7/9 series ==